Life Is Pain
by GreekGod20
Summary: Naruto's life was never supposed to be like this, he was never supposed to receive the memories of another shinobi, one that seemed to be from another world. He was never supposed to graduate so early, he was never supposed to become what he would be.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hello there! I think something's wrong with me. I am working on four stories at the same time, and even though only tow of them (including this one) have been published I am still doing it. This is an AU, but the only major change that you need to know for now is that Orochimaru never left Konoha**. **Oh, does anyone know if there is a word limit to the length of a chapter, or I can post a chapter with two million words?**

**Chapter 1**

S-ranks, the most powerful combatants. The ninjas that defied the barrier between human and god. They were often called _monsters_, and sometimes they were. They were the ones that could raze entire armies, facing them was foolish. Even the most superior ninjas, A-ranks had a near to impossible chance of defeating one.

The title of S-rank wasn't easily given. They were very very rare, and rarely loyal. Itachi of the Hidden Leaves, Pakkura of the Hidden Sand and Kisame of the Hidden Mist were just few examples. S-ranks were rarely mentally stable.

But those who remained loyal were very valuable for their respective villages. Onoki of Both Scales and Sarutobi Hiruzen were great examples of what a village could do with these monstrosities. Almost every Kage had been an S-rank. Almost.

Naruto knew all of these. After all, it was taught in the academy, even though he hadn't stayed there for that long. But he truly had no idea of what made the ANBU standing next to the Hokage an S-rank.

Okami was the code-name of that ANBU. The Hokage's most trusted ninja, and his best one. He was known throughout the other hidden villages as 'Konoha's Wolf' or the 'White Death'.

Titles were somewhat important. They affected the psychology of the opponent's. An average ninja tended to think different depending on the situation. When fighting a no-name you tended to be more confident. But when fighting with power-houses like 'The Professor' or 'The Copy Ninja' you tended to make mistakes.

Naruto shifted his gaze from Sarutobi to Okami again. For an ANBU, he was a bit strange.

First of all he didn't wear his mask, or at least, not an ordinary ANBU mask. Just like Kakashi, the lower part of his face was covered the exact same way.

The other strange thing about him was that nobody new where he came from. It wasn't uncommon for ANBU agents to hide their identities, but Okami was walking on the street with half of his face uncovered and left for the world to see. But nobody seemed to remember seeing his features before.

It was more strange because his hair color was very uncommon in every hidden village. Stark white.

And his eyes. Always cold and unforgiving. Every time Naruto looked in those eyes a cold shiver made his presence known.

Even though he knew the man for years he had no idea who he was. Or what made him an S-rank.

Of course, he heard stories. Stories about his battles and feats. But since he was an ANBU they rarely were acurate.

"Naruto. Naruto!" Sarutobi raised his voice to get the young boys attention. He sighed, even though the blond was strong, strong enough to graduate the academy at the age of eight and be put on a team with two genins four years older than himself, he was still a boy.

Naruto snapped his head to Sarutobi. "Huh? Oh! I'm sorry, Jiji, I zoomed off for a second." the boy said with a smile.

Sarutobi responded with a smile of his own. Even though the boy was too mature for his age he still had bits of how he should have acted. Too bad that his childhood had been taken away by a confusing incident.

He had Inoichi inspect his mind. Apparently Naruto had _received _memories. Memories that were not his own. Memories of battles that were never fought, of people who were never born. They were not a Genjutsu. Yet they affected the boy's mind.

They made him a prodigy.

"As I was saying, your team is one of the three that had been nominated for the Chuunin exams held in Iwa. I wish you luck," Sarutobi continued, "Orochimaru, stay with me for a minute," he called his former student and sensei of the team.

Neither of them liked this. A team that contained Konoha's jinchuriki and two members of important clans was sent to the village that was more hostile with them than any other one form all of the Elemental Countries. But Naruto had to become a chuunin as fast as possible.

Sarutobi glanced to the right at Okami. Hiruzen knew that the white-haired man didn't like this, he didn't want Naruto to be an example for the other villages, an example of power, of what _danger _Konoha could produce.

But Hiruzen was the Hokage, and even though he was old and considered senile by his loyal ANBU, his word was _law_.

"Orochimaru," he addressed the sannin in a formal tone. "I will be coming as well." the pale man opened his mouth to protest, but Hiruzen raised a hand to silence him, "I know that it is dangerous, but I can still put up a fight, and besides, Okami's team will come as well. Dismissed."

The sannin turned to leave, a frown plastered in his face, he didn't like this. Now Orochimaru wasn't one who would doubt a comrade so easily, but there had always been something off about Okami. Just as he was about to open the door, he was stopped again by his Hokage.

"Oh, and one more thing," Orochimaru turned to meet Hiruzen's gaze, "If anything happens, and I become unable to lead, you will listen to any word Okami says."

Orochimaru scoffed, his former sensei had too much trust in someone that chose to isolate himself form his comrades. Okami was avoiding his fellow Konoha shinobi, there was no doubt about that.

As there was no doubt that Orochimaru didn't trust the white-haired shinobi.

But Sarutobi was his Kage and above all, his _sensei. _

So, the pale man nodded and left.

"I don't like this, not at all." Said Okami.

Hiruzen merely scoffed.

"I know, you told me already."

With the corner of his eye he saw Okami tense, like he wanted to tell him something that would anger the old Hokage.

"Hokage-sama," Hiruzen turned his face to him. It was a very rare occurrence to be called Hokage-sama by the white-haired ANBU, the man usually calling him "old man", just like young Naruto. "I want to ask permission to kill."

Ah, so that's what it was.

"Permission to kill, hmmm. And why is it that you ask me this when you know very-well that I allow you to kill anyone who you're certain is a threat to Konoha?" Hiruzen asked.

Okami tensed. "Because I want to kill Danzo Shimura."

Hiruzen stared at him for a few moments before he opened his mouth to speak. "Are you sure you have to do this? Are you certain of his betrayal? You told me before of the danger that he is, but I assured you of his loyalty, so why now?"

Okami looked him dead in the eye. He gave Hiruzen the look reserved for his victims, so he could mock them, so they would know that they had no escape, that their fate was in the hands of the 'White Wolf'.

"I ask you to trust me." was all the man said.

Hiruzen gave him a sad smile, before nodding. "Very well. I trust that you will be finished before tomorrow?" At Okami's nod he continued. "After you're done, come return here, I have something to tell you."

Okami nodded again, and without any hand-signs or trace of chakra he dissapeared. A light breeze carrying his warning for Sarutobi.

"Old man, don't offer your apology to Shimura."

Sighing, Hiruzen turned his chair so that he could watch the beautiful sun-set through the window, silently asking for forgivness from the friend he just allowed to be assassinated.

(XXXXX)

Danzo opened his eyes, his rest interrupted. He turned his head to see Okami leaned against the door. Instantly, Danzo knew that the ANBU had made wanted his presence _known_.

Then, he recognised Okami's stance.

And he knew that he was about to die.

"I trust that Hiruzen finally had the guts to kill me?" Danzo said. "But I doubt that. So tell me, who is it that ordered my death?"

In Okami's hand a kunai appeared. "Me." Responded the white-haired man.

"Ah, so that's how it is. You probably already know about my Root, after all, you know many things that you shouldn't. You know that they would come after you, right? That they would avenge me." Danzo said. He knew he had no chance of winning a fight with Okami, but maybe, just maybe he could convince the ANBU to let him alive a little longer.

Then, he realized something. He realized that he forgot a crucial thing.

Okami had no fear.

"I doubt that." The ANBU said as he took out a scroll from his cloak. He opened it and for the first time in a very long time, Danzo was horrified.

On the floor now rested the heads of almost every Root member. The blood quickly creating a puddle.

Slowly, Danzo raised his gaze to meet Okami's.

The man's eyes were emotionless, his face devoid of any expression. Ironically, he looked just like a Root member. "Some managed to run away, but don't worry, I'll find them and kill them too." said Okami. "Now, it's time for you to rest, Danzo Shimura." He raised the kunai and before Danzo could move his head was on the ground, near the other remains of his once-subordinates.

Okami bent to close Shimura's eyes. "Konoha thanks you for your service."

Then, he raised and disappeared, leaving the heads on the floor there, not noticing that they had created a strange pattern.

If Okami would have stayed more, he would have watched as the burning tag he left on the doore activated, and slowly, artistically, almost dramatically, the fire consumed the room and the deceased members of Root.


	2. Chapter 2

Orochimaru almost laughed. He truly loved the expressions on his student's faces.

After all, it's not every day that you see an A-ranked technique.

The only one out of the three who didn't have any reaction was Naruto.

Being only eight years old he was expected to jump around with excitement and ask when will _he _learn that.

Instead, all that Orochimaru got was a slight twitch of his fingers.

He sighed. He truly loved Naruto. But somehow somebody inserted false memories in little Naruto's head and now he was a prodigy.

Orochimaru did not doubt that in a couple of years the boy would be a certain S-rank.

"How did you do _that_?" asked one of the two girls on his team, Hana Inuzuka.

"That, my dear Hana, is elemental manipulation. You see, young serpents, every ninja has a specific element that they can control better, but why do I bother explaining that? You were already taught in the academy. Now, each of you takes a piece of this paper and channel chakra into it."

(XXXXXXX)

Reluctantly, Naruto took a piece of paper from his sensei.

He remembered, or better said, saw in his memories how an older him was devastating the battlefield with wind and lightning techniques.

Naruto hated his state of mind. The memories were like flashbacks, he couldn't connect events between them or access them whenever he wanted. It was like his mind was _incomplete_. Sure, he knew things that he shouldn't, things that he couldn't understand, not because he was a kid, no, the moment he received this incomplete mind was the moment he stopped being a kid, that day, Naruto became the adult that he was every night in his nightmares.

He started channeling chakra into the piece of paper. As expected, the paper split in two and one side crumbled. Then, the unexpected happened. The other half caught fire. It went ablaze so fast that it burned Naruto's hand.

The blonde stared at the remains of the paper. _This was NOT supposed to happen. _He raised his head to look at his teacher. The sannin was as awed as him. His teammates were staring at him like he was some kind of monster. Which he _was_ if his altered memories were correct.

Naruto never knew he had a fire affinity. Long ago, his flashbacks had revealed his wind and lightning powers, but never had he seen himself using fire.

"Well, well, well, it seems that you are truly gifted, my young apprentice," said Orochimaru, still shaking his head.

Naruto only grimaced. He doubted that this was a gift, more likely more trouble in the future.

(XXXXXXX)

Sarutobi raised his head, a sad smile plastered on his face. Okami did nothing.

"I trust that it's done?" Hiruzen asked. Again, Okami didn't move.

"Good," Sarutobi said, then he turned back to the ever-growing pile of paper on his desk.

"Old-man..." Okami began.

"Hm?" absently hummed the Hokage.

"Would you mind telling me..." Okami continued in a low tone.

"Yes?" This time Hiruzen raised his head. Something was wrong, something was making Okami nervous, and that was _never _a good thing.

"WHY THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE A JINCHURIKI IN YOUR OFFICE?" Okami shouted. Hiruzen stood as still as stone.

"It's remarkable, that if you want, you can shout in such a low voice that only we can hear you, I wonder, do you use chakra or..."

"Spare me the crap, Old-man!" Okami smashed his hands on the desk, papers flying from it and scattering all over the floor.

To his credit, Sarutobi remained calm and asked:

"How did you knew?"

Okami pointed to a wall, Hiruzen looked. Nothing seemed off about it.

"I smelled her. I felt her scent from the other side of the village. How the _fuck_ do you want to hide her if every Inuzuka can feel her?"

The Hokage scoffed. It seemed that his favorite shinobi was kinda stupid when he was angry.

"Have you forgotten? Have you forgotten your powers, have you forgotten that you are the only one of your kind? Perhaps the only one that will ever exist? But enough with this, Yugito, show yourself."

From the shadow of the wall emerged an unmasked ANBU. She was a girl, there was no doubt about it. Her blonde hair was braided in a tail that fell on her back. Her blue eyes were watching Okami, her cat-like pupils were somewhat unsettling.

Okami was dumb-struck. He recognized her.

"You know many things, but I'm certain that you don't know what truly happened at the Hyuuga incident, when Kumo tried to kidnap the lovely Hinata," Sarutobi began, "You see, we managed to reach an agreement with Kumo, and they gave us one of their jinchuriki."

"The tow-tails," Okami muttered. He turned to Hiruzen. "Why are you showing me this now?"

The Hokage sighed, he felt so old, and he was.

"You see, my young friend, I don't know how much time I have left, and given your risky plan, I want to prepare you for my death."

Okami nodded. Then, he fixed her eyes on Yugito.

"How do you know we can trust her, she wasn't a child when she came here, for all you know, she might be a spy." asked the white-haired shinobi.

Hiruzen smiled sadly.

"I don't. For the past two years, I've used her as a double agent. Why I trust her? Because I gave her a better life, and she is grateful."

Hearing this, Okami chuckled. A cold sound that made Yugito shake in fear and sent a cold shiver down Hiruzen's spine.

"The life of an ANBU is never a good one." Okami said, "Tell me, for how long has she been working for your village?"

Hiruzen noted how Okami said 'your village'. He was worried about this, but know there were other matters at hand.

"Three years. She has been interrogated by the Yamanaka. Gather your team and prepare for the journey," said the Hokage.

Okami nodded. He understood the message. Yugito's mind had been tortured by the Yamanaka to make her loyal to Konoha.

A light breeze entered the window, and before he left, the Wolf of Konoha took one last glance at the blonde woman.

'_Double-agent my ass.'_ he thought as he jumped over the rooftops of Konoha.

He would have to speak to her, but not now. When he returned from Iwa, then. Only then.

(XXXXXXXX)

Hiruzen raised his head as two figures entered his office. Sarutobi greeted his teammates with a nod.

"Danzo is dead," said Koharu.

Hiruzen said nothing, instead, he turned his chair to face the large windows of his office.

"Okami killed him," Homura stated.

Sarutobi remained silent. He took a long drag from his pipe. His mind absent, remembering all the plots that he and his deceased friend and rival had made, plots that assured the safety of the village, the two of them had made horrible things, and all of them for the good of Konoha.

"Tell me, Hiruzen," said Koharu, "Did you know that he also massacred every Root member?"

The Hokage finally turned. He looked at the two with a sad smile.

"That...I didn't know."

Homura raised from his seat, his fists clenched from anger.

"Why Sarutobi? Why do you trust this man? You know very well that he is not loyal to the village, that he doesn't care what happens to this place. Then why do you trust this, this monster?"

The Hokage closed his eyes. He was too old for this. The night Okami appeared in his office and showed him his true identity was the night when Hiruzen gained some hope, hope that maybe Konoha still had a chance in the coming war. That night had been two years ago, and while there had been no conflicts yet, spies had informed him that all the villages were planning, preparing for something. With a grimace, Sarutobi looked at the elders.

"Perhaps because I am a fool, an old fool who believes that Okami still has some love for this place. This village has killed everything he once loved, everything he had was taken from him. But before you shout at me again, let me tell you why I trust him so much, why I gave him so much power in Konoha. He doesn't fight for the place, but for the _people_ that live in it. Innocent people who just want to live their lives, he fights to protect them, because he still cares for them. To him, his comrades are everything."

The two elders stood still. They listened to Hiruzen's words, and then they spoke:

"Still, he is very dangerous. I understand his power, but you are old Hiruzen, and soon we will need a new Hokage. But not him. So, tell me, have you found someone fit to take the hat from you?"

Sarutobi nodded, he was old, very old, and he knew that his days were coming to an end. He still had some years left, but it wasn't enough.

"I have sent Jiraiya to find Tsunade," he said.

"Do you think that she will accept?"

Hiruzen shrugged. "We shall live and see."

The elders nodded and headed to the door, but before they left Homura turned and spoke:

"I must now, Sarutobi if it ever comes to the situation where Okami turns rogue, do you have a plan to take him down?"

Sarutobi scoffed.

"I am pretty certain that Okami is prepared for many things, but even he cannot fight the entire forces of Konoha."

Koharu frowned. "So we will have to take extreme measures."

The Hokage nodded. "Let's hope that it never comes to this. But, to be honest, I'm not even sure if Okami is loyal to anyone anymore."

The elders left, leaving Hiruzen alone. He turned again in his chair and gazed at the Hokage mountain. He looked at the faces carved in the stone.

All of them had been considered _gods_ among men. The world had seen incredible shinobi in the past, with names such as Madara, Minato and many more.

Hiruzen sighed. No doubt that there will be more, more shinobi with powers so exceptional that they were sometimes called _monsters_.

But Sarutobi doubted that there will ever be someone as Okami.

(XXXXXXXX)

It was, strange. In a good way. The feeling he got when he was with his team, a feeling that was once forgotten, a feeling that once used to cause him pain, to twist his thoughts and clench his hearth, making him wonder _how long will this last?_

But not anymore.

Okami eyed his teammates sitting at the table. They were in their favorite restaurant, the staff there had become used to seeing five ANBU sitting at the same table, always drinking the same thing.

To his left sat his second-in-command. Karu was without a doubt, a skilled shinobi. He never talked much. His short spiky black hair combined with his grey eyes always gave him a depressing appearance. But despite his silence, he was one of the best fire specialists Konoha had.

In front of Okami was a tall, bulky man with blonde hair. Banri was a weapon specialist. In contrast to his appearance, he was a very likable man.

To Banri's right sat a petite brown-haired girl with green eyes. Zuka was small but dangerous. The medic of the team, also being a very good sensor.

Okami inwardly smiled recalling all the time the small woman had healed him. She had used more chakra on her team than on her enemies.

The white-haired man glanced to his right when he felt his fifth teammate brush against him. The final member of his team was a Yamanaka. Akemi was a young beautiful girl and the most affectionate one in her team. She was absently talking to Zuka and unconsciously moved a little closer to Okami.

The man smiled again, the two of them had a soft spot for each other.

But as much as he loved to stay with his team and simply _listen_ to them talk and finally escape the loneliness he always felt, he had to tell them the news.

"Silence." was all he said and instantly, his team stopped talking. "Tomorrow at six at the gates, bring travel supplies, we're going to Iwa for the Chuunin Exam. Prepare for operation five."

They nodded. All of them knew what this meant. Operation five was used for events like the Chunnin Exam when ANBU openly traveled to another village. While the exam was taking place, the team will hoard the village for information, trying to find anything useful. It was a very dangerous operation, if they were caught a war would be inevitable.

"One more thing, before you leave," Okami said as his team raised themselves from their seats. "The Hokage's got a double spy. She is a jinchuriki."

He watched his friends' reaction with an impassive look. They were shocked, and they had every right to be.

With a pitiful look in her eyes, Akemi put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay with this?" she asked in a worried tone.

Okami looked at her with sadness. Out of all members of his team, she was the only one that had a slight understanding of what the white-haired shinobi was going through. She was the only one that knew something about his past, but even she had only a brief understanding of Okami's troubles.

The blue-eyed anbu stared in her eyes before responding.

"Have I ever been okay?"

Then he disappeared in a body-flicker, a light breeze of wind carrying his words.

"Tomorrow at six. At the gates."

His teammates glanced at each other before they each left to their homes.

Okami was a mystery, even to the people that considered themselves his friends, although after every meeting with him they wondered what they truly were for the enigmatic masked shinobi.

(XXXXXXX)

They stood in front of the gates and waited. Waited for their white-haired teammate to come so they could start their journey to a village that hated them. And all of this trouble for just three genin.

Three genin that held unmeasured potential. The first one was the heir of the Inuzuka clan, Hana. A girl whose calm personality contrasted with the rest of the clan.

The second one was another girl. Mitarashi Anko was in many ways similar to her sensei, Orochimaru.

And the last one, the mature and powerful genius, the eight-year-old Naruto Uzumaki.

They stood in front of the gates with their sensei and their sensei's sensei, the Third Hokage.

He had so much confidence in those three genin that they will reach the finals of the Chunin Exam that he chose to make the trip with them.

And that was why the two Anbu were present.

"Where is my team?" asked the white-haired one.

"Ah, you see, Dragon had a mission and all of his squad is out cold, so I borrowed him your team. Instead of them, Yugito here will accompany us." said the Hokage gesturing towards the blonde Anbu.

"You can't go to Iwa with only three shinobi accompanying you!" said Orochimaru.

Hiruzen nodded sagely.

"Indeed, but these three shinobi happen to be among Konoha's strongest. Shall we go then?" and with that said he started walking away.

"Damn you Hiruzen," muttered Okami under his breath.

(XXXXXXXXXX)

It was night when the Hokage raised his hand to stop the party.

"We shall sleep here," he said as he sat on the ground.

Okami sighed.

"I'll go and scout the area, see if there is any threat. We're still in Fire Country, so we should be safe here," he said and without another word, he left the clearing.

Naruto looked at his departing form. So many questions about him. He knew that in all of Konoha, he was the closest to Okami, yet he knew so little about him. The man liked Naruto, for some unexplained reason, but he _liked _him.

"Jiji, why is Okami always so sad?" the young blonde asked.

Hiruzen closed his eyes in sadness. Sadness for both Okami and Naruto, whose childhood had been stripped from him.

"He has seen much and done more. I don't know much about him. He never wanted to tell me. But I know that life wasn't easy for him. He had to overcome more struggles than anyone I've met. And part of his angst is my fault. I sent him on missions, dirty missions, because he was the best, because, at the time, I didn't think that he had a conscience, not after what he had been through, but I was wrong. Once, he told me that he lost everything he had, everything he ever loved was taken from him, he was once a good man, and deep down under all that cold facade, under that _mask_, he is a broken boy that wants happiness. Or, at least, that's what he told me."

Sarutobi finished his...lecture…and looked at the shinobi seated in front of him. They were all silent, even Orochimaru didn't have some bitter remark or an insult to say.

Hiruzen looked at the children. They were all close to him. Once, he had asked Okami to help Orochimaru train them. Both agreed, but reluctantly. He hoped that those three kids could help the withe-haired man. They did help him, but very little.

And, at last, he looked at Yugito. The blonde girl was silent and motionless. Sarutobi could see in her eyes that she was thinking about his words. It impacted her mission, heavily. Her mission was to help Okami. To ease his pain, to be his friend. But her true mission, the one gave to her by the order of the Council, was to find out about Okami's past. To find out why he did what he did, because the man's answers were not enough and he was in conflict with the elders.

Yugito's mission was hard. To make him confess memories, memories that not even interrogation and torture could find out, because Okami had been subjected to those methods, back when he first met with Hiruzen, when the old man didn't trust the white-haired one.

With a sigh, Hiruzen laid himself on the ground and said.

"It's late, go to sleep, all of you."

(XXXXXXXXXXX)

It was long past midnight when he returned to the camp. The sky was filled with stars, and the moon was shining with a silver light, almost shyly.

He found them sleeping. He laid himself on the hard ground, between Naruto and Yugito. The three of them were so close to each other that they were almost touching. They were ninja, they didn't need comfort, they were used to sleeping on hard surfaces, they endured until now, and they will endure.

He looked to his left, to Yugito. He didn't know if the girl was asleep or not, and he didn't care.

To his right, Naruto shifted.

"I always loved the stars," the young blonde said.

"Me too," said Yugito.

Okami stayed silent.

"It's just that they are...comforting...in a strange way, like a mother that loves a child," Naruto spoke.

"When I was young," started Okami, "I was so lonely," with the corner of his eye he saw Yugito turn her head to look at him, her mask was off, and the moonlight was enveloping her in a pale light, "that I used to think that every star was watching me, that every star was there for me, that every star believed in me, and in my dreams. But the falling stars, those I loved the most. I used to think that they were beautiful, so perfect, so lonely, just like me, because they were falling, and they were leaving their friends behind. Somehow, I felt connected to them."

"When I was young," started Naruto, "Used to dream of being Hokage, I used to dream of being accepted, of being loved by all those around me."

Okami stayed silent.

"It's a foolish dream, isn't it?" said Naruto, a hint of humor in his voice, but otherwise empty.

"Yes," responded Okami in the same empty tone.

"All dreams are foolish," said Yugito sadly.

"All things are foolish, all of our actions are stupid, all of us are headed towards what we believe is necessary for us, our goal, to say so. But still, that doesn't mean we can't try to live a life that makes us happy, does it?" said Naruto in a low voice, so he will not wake the others.

Okami nodded:

"We are all stories in the end, so let's make it a good one. Good night."

And with that, he stretched his arms and clasped their shoulders, pulling them close, and they fell asleep like that, holding each other.

Above, in the starry night, a lone falling star crossed the sky, it was beautiful. Okami didn't see it, but if he had, he would have been pleased.


	3. Chapter 3

It felt right. It felt so right that it was almost wrong.

And it was.

Hana looked at her teammate. Four years younger than her, yet with a confidence and maturity far beyond his age. Naruto was a strange boy. She knew about his fake memories.

She was her teammate, of course, she would know. Because, out of all the people that knew Naruto, she thought she knew him best.

They had been friends ever since the first day, the day when they met, when they became a team, and met their sensei.

Orochimaru was a good sensei, not always a good man but always a good teacher.

Hana had always been there for him, she had watched as the eight-year-old laughed and joked, always with that happy-go attitude.

But he was not happy. Hana knew, because she had been there for him.

She had listened to him, listened as he would tell her about his memories, about the nightmares that he had to face every night, about his memories of people dying, people that he knew, people that he loved.

For all that Hana knew, she was the only one who truly knew what Naruto was struggling with. Their sensei wasn't exactly a sensitive man, and their teammate, Anko, well, she wasn't too emotional.

And Hana, despite her nature, her Inuzuka nature, was a calm girl, calm even by normal people's standards.

And because of that, she was the one that knew Naruto best.

And watching him now, jumping in front of her through the thick forest of Iwa, it made her feel uneasy.

She couldn't tell why, was it because of the Anbu that was next to him?

That woman, she had never seen her in her life, yet Naruto instantly opened to her, like he already knew her, and perhaps he did.

But it wasn't the Anbu that made her stomach tighten, no.

She looked at the man on Naruto's left. Okami.

As Hana watched the trio in front of her quietly conversing, she realized that the strange feeling was in fact...jealousy?

Yes, that's what it was.

Jealousy.

Hana felt, replaced. The way the trio moved, the way they were positioned, like members of a team who had been together for years. Yet, they didn't know each other for years. Hana was pretty sure that Naruto had seen the blonde woman for the first time just yesterday, yet he had _accepted _her, he had put his trust in her, and it puzzled Hana.

It puzzled her because, in many ways, Okami and Naruto were similar. Both of them didn't trust easily. Heck, they barely trusted shinobi from their own village, shinobi that trained alongside them. And here comes a random Anbu and they start acting like a family.

_A_ _family?_.

Strange choice of words, but Hana realized that she was correct, Naruto was between them, he was quiet, too quiet for him. Okami and Yugito were conversing over his head, but she was too far away to hear what they were saying.

She was about to get closer to them when she felt something. _Chakra_. Hana was not a sensor, for all she knew, no Inuzkua was, but even she could feel the chakra signatures a few hundreds of meters in front of them. There were _hundreds _of them, all gathered in one point and directed towards them, almost like…

"A statement of power!" growled her sensei, "How cocky they are!"

Hana turned to face Orochimaru, the man's face was twisted in a frown, and he radiated anger.

The Hokage glared at his student. "Control yourself, Orochimaru, we don't want to risk a war with Iwa."

(XXXXXX)

Iwa's gates were huge. Huge and made from black stone. They were wide open, but Yugito wasn't feeling too welcomed, maybe because of the small army of Iwa standing in front of them, with the Tsuchikage in the lead.

The Hokage bowed slightly. "Greetings, Onoki-sama."

The short man scoffed, but bowed too, although more reluctantly. "You are the first to arrive, the other villages are uncharacteristically late, perhaps something happened to them," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

There was no mistake from his tone, he was blaming them!

"What?! Why would you think that we had anything to do with those lazy idiots?" Anko yelled angrily, Orochimaru snarled at her, but the damage had been done.

Onoki glared at them. "I do not know, you tell me, after all, everyone knows that Konoha is full of murderers."

Anko yelled again. "We're ninja! What did you expect?"

She was cut off by Hiruzen's intervention- a little late from Yugito's point.

"Anko, enough!" he turned to the Tsuchikage. "I apologize for the young one's impulsive spirit."

Onoki growled. Something was wrong. Yugito felt it, she could _smell_ the hatred coming from the Iwa-nin. Too many for a war welcome. Half of her expected them to jump at her comrades and kill them, but they wouldn't risk a war, would they?

The feeling of wrong grew, even more, when Onoki smirked. It wasn't the warm smirk of a wise of man, no, it was the smile of someone who bored a deep hatred for something, and that something was Konoha.

"In that case, perhaps the young genin shall be taught some manners."

Before anyone could say something Onoki flared his chakra at Anko. The ground cracked and the air became hard to breathe. Even though Yugito was not the target, she still felt the intensity of Onoki's killing intent. She was scared, she couldn't move, she could barely breathe.

And then, something happened. Okami flared his chakra too. For the first time in her life, Yugito felt Okami's chakra.

It was terrifying. The ground cracked again, but this time, Iwa's walls shook, and, to everyone's amazement, they craked.

It became more terrifying. The air was hard to breathe before, but this time, it was impossible. It hurt her lungs, it poisoned her. She could _see_ the chakra around the white-haired man. It was terrifying, but it was also...warm. Warm like the sun.

And then, Okami's killing intent came. Directed straight at the Tsuchikage, but Yugito felt it too. Any warmness or comfort that Yugito might have felt from her comrade's chakra disappeared instantly.

She looked at Okami.

First, she looked at his face, unchanged, no expression. Then, she looked at his eyes.

Yugito forgot what fear was.

She had had a bad life, she had seen and done terrible things, but they were like some failed cheap-budget attractions in a funhouse, because, at least, that's what they were compared to the horrible things she saw in the depths man's eyes.

Nothing would ever scare her more than this. Nothing. Not the Hokage, the frick Orochimaru, or any enemy she might encounter.

_Nothing_.

She saw Hell. There was Hell, right there, in Okami's eyes.

Eyes that didn't blink, eyes that glowed even in the pale light of the dawn, and gleamed with cunningness and hatred and something, something that Yugito, _a grown _woman and seasoned ninja couldn't understand.

She might have screamed, she couldn't tell.

She wasn't conscious of the world around her anymore. All that mattered, all that existed, were those cold blue eyes.

Eyes, that weren't even _looking _at her.

She started crying. A long time ago, when she was just a little girl, and everyone hated her, she had made a promise to herself, a promise to never cry again.

But now, all she wanted to do was to hug her knees and cry, just cry.

And then, Okami turned his gaze to _her_.

She felt his stare pierce her soul, there was nothing she could hide from him, nothing.

She couldn't move her gaze, he was staring at her and she was staring at him and she wanted it to stop, but she couldn't.

In his eyes, there were so many emotions, anger, sadness, despair...so many emotions, and none of them were good.

And then, the worse came. Yugito thought that nothing could be worse than this, but she was wrong. Oh! How she wished she wasn't wrong!

It hurt, it hurt to look into Okami's eyes. She felt her soul leave her body, she felt her soul desperately trying to escape, desperately trying to hide.

And then there was the two-tails. The bijuu sealed inside her. Yugito _heard _Matatabi scream. It was a terrible scream that filled her with even more agony and despair.

The two-tails was _terrified_. Yugito never thought it possible, but Matatabi was more scared than _her._

Yugito heard her talking to herself, to her, to Okami? She wasn't sure.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." was murmuring the ghostly cat.

Sorry for what? Yugito had no idea.

And then, when the blonde woman thought she couldn't handle it anymore, it stopped. The killing intent disappeared and the chakra dissipated.

Okami stood tall and relaxed like nothing happened.

Yugito realized that she had fallen on the ground. It felt like an eternity, but all of that happened only in a few moments.

She gathered enough strange to raise herself and look around.

Many of the Iwa shinobi were fallen on the ground, they weren't moving. Others were twitching and mumbling nonsense.

The two young girls from Konoha were hugging each other and they were shaking.

Orochimaru had his hands clasped tight on their shoulders. He too looked scared.

The Hokage was still on his legs, the same for Onoki. But both of them looked shaken.

Okami was the only one that had no reaction, since he was the source of the...of what he did.

But, surprisingly, there was another one who seemed to be fine.

Young Naruto stood next to Okami, a grim expression on his face.

It was so strange, to see such dark emotions on someone so young.

Okami looked at Onoki. "You have no right to teach _our_ genin how to act. Now let's go. I think that there is an exam that must be held," he said all that without raising his voice, but Onoki nodded hastily.

With that said, Okami started heading towards the gates. He didn't look at Yugito when he walked past her, but he did brush his shoulder against hers.

Yugito stared at him as he stepped over the fallen Iwa-nin and entered the village.

She realized that Okami had no fear, because he had shown her – she didn't know how and she wasn't going to ask how – but during his little…'show'… she had understood that once, Okami was even more scared than her.

Slowly, she started walking after him, the Tsuchikage, and the rest of her group behind. She looked at Okami again.

In front of her, there was a man who stopped fearing the dark because he became it.

She couldn't see his face, but if she could, she would have been frightened because under his mask he smiled, a smile that promised bad things...


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you're all safe and healthy.**

Hiruzen scoffed as he moved a piece on the chess table.

Playing chess with Onoki was harder then it seemed.

After Okami's...lecture, Onoki reluctantly ordered one of his Anbu to escort Orochimaru and his students to the place they were supposed to be staying.

Sarutobi had no idea were Yugito and Okami were.

"Tell me," began Onoki, "That white-haired man, is he the great White Wolf?"

Hiruzen smiled slightly, "Indeed he is. You see, Iwa is quite far from Konoha, and I'm quite old, so why not bring myself an escort?"

"And what an escort you got," Onoki grumbled.

Hiruzen's smile widened. Onoki understood the message. Okami was strong enough to fight toe to toe against the Tsuchikage.

"The other villages," Sarutobi's tone became professional, "Why are they so late?"

Onoki stiffened. If instead of Hiruzen stood a normal jonin, they would have missed it, but Hiruzen was a Kage, and above that, he was _old_, years of experience were behind him, so he didn't miss it.

"We don't know, I send some patrols to find them, but so far nothing."

"And the other Kage? No message from them?"

Onoki moved another piece. "No, it's like they've shut down. You are the only one to send a response to the Genin Exam invitation."

Hiruzen's mouth twisted into a frown. This was not good. Suna was Konoha's allies, but the last time he got a word from them was months ago. Something big was happening, something bad.

"Hmmm, the world goes on, and perhaps it's time for us to go on too," Sarutobi said while moving another piece.

Onoki scoffed. He understood the message. '_Perhaps we should ally, to protect each other from what is happening.'_

"Perhaps, but this is no reason to worry, at least not for us," Onoki began while moving yet another piece on the table, "You see, Hiruzen, you were right, the world goes on, and we must go on to."

The only window in the room broke when a shinobi wearing a Konoha headband entered the room. His face was covered and his clothes were grey. Nothing besides the headband gave away his village.

A kunai flew through the air and Onoki's Anbu fell to the ground, dead.

"KONOHA HAS BETRAYED THE AGREEMENT! KILL THEM!" Onoki screamed, and the Anbu hidden in the room left to inform the others.

Hiruzen frowned, this was not good. In a few seconds, whole Iwa would be on the young genin's trails. They had to leave the village, make a run for the border and try to find help in Kusa.

But it made no sense. That fake Konoha ninja, Hiruzen didn't know who he was. He looked at Onoki. The short man was grinning while adopting a battle stance. Why would he kill his ninja? Did his hate for Konoha stretch so far that he would kill people of his village?

He felt the air in the room change. The temperature dropped a few degrees.

"Okami!" Sarutobi barked, "Find your comrades, take them out of the village. Protect them! GO!"

Something white blurred past him and through the fake Konoha-nin. Blood splattered across the room as the fake-nin's body fell to the ground. Hiruzen spared a glance through the window. He spotted Okami jumping on the rooms. He prayed to Kami that the three genins would be safe.

"Let's see, Hiruzen, if you still have the 'will of fire' in you," said Onoki and lunged at Hiruzen.

(XXXXX)

'_Fuck, fuck, fuck...'_

Those were the words that Okami was repeating in his head. He was running on the narrow streets of Iwa. He couldn't use chakra. He couldn't risk it. Iwa ninja were all above him, searching for the Konoha genin and their sensei.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what Okami was doing too.

He took a corner and stopped.

A man blocks his path. He is tall, he wears a mask, but his eyes are visible, _his sharingan_ is visible trough his spiky grey hair.

His clothing is simple, a tank top with the strip of an Akatsuki cloak around his shoulders.

This man is Hatake Kakashi.

Okami knows that can't turn his back on this man, this dangerous shinobi, he can't afford to run towards the little genin that count on him.

He has to fight Hatake.

His opponent is an S-rank, just like Okami, and the white-haired shinobi knows that he has to get rid of him quickly, he can't give him a chance to think.

The battle begins. It's beautiful, it's brutal, it's elegant, it's mortal. They fight with grace, they fight with brutality.

They want to kill each other. Or at least, Kakashi wants.

Okami slashes with his sword, Hatake parries with his own blade.

'_Good, as I expected,' _thinks Okami, _'Now, I have to_-' his thoughts are interrupted when Kakashi punches him in the jaw.

Okami rolls with the blow, he keeps forgetting, Kakashi has a sharingan, so he has to adapt, to surprise himself. Let him think that he has the advantage, that Okami is off balance. Hatake is young, he will bite.

He does.

Kakashi tries to slash with his swords, but Okami kicks him in the chest both legs. Kakashi grabs his opponent's shoulder and pushes, Okami's head hits the concrete beneath him and makes it crack.

Kakashi smashes Okami's head again, and again, but the Konoha shinobi manages to grab Hatake's throat and pushes the Akatsuki mercenary off him.

'_What the fuck is wrong with me?' _Okami thinks, _'He's beating the crap out of me!'_

Kakashi hits the other man with the knee, then kicks him in the stomach. In the last moment, before another punch came, before Kakashi can cause more pain to his enemy, Okami counters, he punches him in the jaw, a loud _Crak!_ is heard.

'_I'm hesitating,'_ thinks Okami, _'but I shouldn't. I have to distract him, and perhaps bring some sense in him.'_

"You know?" starts Okami, "You're pretty good!"

Kakashi kicks his chest and Okami responds in kind by punching him. _'Great, the punch to the jaw made him angry.'_

"I'm curious, why did you leave the village." Okami dodges a punch to the face. The street is too narrow, they don't have much space to fight, and Okami wonders why the heck no Iwa shinobi has shown up yet, but he suspects that they are busy fighting against those mysterious shinobi.

"That village," Kakashi starts with clear rage in his words, took everything away from me, my family, my friends, everything!"

Okami looks him dead in the eye. "Are you sure that _you_ haven't thrown all that away? Your father died, but that is no excuse to isolate yourself!"

Kakashi punches him. "Shut up!"

'_Damn,' _Okami thinks, _'It's not working, I should have taken him in three moves. Too bad I can't use ninjutsu. But neither can he. At our level, a ninjutsu fight would take too much time and chakra. Things that we cannot afford to lose, not now. Not in this crucial moment. Although...both of us from completely different reasons.'_

Kakashi jumps and kicks his hands, removing Okami's block. He then spins in the air and double-kicks Okami, pushing him in a wall.

'_He's angry. That's good.'_

"Tell me, Hatake," begins Okami, "Why did you choose to fight against your friends, your family? Sure, you killed your teammates, but still, you got people who love you, even now that you're a traitor, that you're worse than trash!"

Kakashi uppercuts him. Then he kicks him, throwing him in another wall. The building collapses onto Okami. The anbu raises himself from the debris. He is hurt, he can barely stand up.

The white-haired man laughs bitterly.

"You are worse than trash," Kakashi is a few feet in front of him, lightning gathering into his hand.

"But," Okami continues, " At least you are not like me."

Hatake stops his Chidori. Confusion is visible on his face. "What?"

Okami laughs again. A dark sound that sends chills down Kakashi's spine.

"You see, Hatake, we are similar in many ways, we both wear masks to hide from the world. But the difference between us is that you can still go back, go back to Konoha." Okami starts to cough. "I know, there is no reason to come back to the village, except one, the only thing that keeps me there."

Kakashi kneels in front of him. "What reason"

Okami acted like he didn't hear him, he seemed to be talking to himself now. "Yes, Konoha is evil, worse than any other village. But do you know what keeps it together, what makes sure that this rotten place doesn't collapse under all that corruption?"

Kakashi frowned. "What?"

Okami's mask shifted, he might have been smiling.

"Mother fuckers like me who fight for what they love, even when no one loves us back."

Smoke engulfs Kakashi.

"It is said that you need a sharingan to use the Chidori," says Okami, "You need it to see where your target is. However, when you're at point-blank range, you don't need shit."

The smoke evaporates and clones appear – three- each of them with a Chidori, they strike at Kakashi's stomach.

The man screams. After years of using that technique, he finally tastes it himself. But from where Okami learned that jutsu, a jutsu made by Kakashi himself and never taught to anyone, he had no idea.

"At this range, it's hard to control the shot," says Okami, besides, being hit by three assassination jutsu at once guarantees a small chance of survival, good thing that I avoided your organs, it shouldn't be lethal, but it hurts a lot, and it leaves scars. Take this as a reminder."

Okami raises from the ground and bends over Kakashi's bloodied form.

"If you survive, I'll give you a second chance. I can make you a full-fledged jonin of Konoha and protect you from any punishment you should receive for your crimes. If you want to regain the bonds you have lost, if you want real friends, then come back."

With that said Okami steps over Hatake and walks further down the street. He still has to find those genin.

Kakashi looks at his retreating form. Despite the pain, his mind is filled with thoughts. He didn't like staying with Akatsuki, but they were the only family he had, at least, that was what he believed.

Perhaps, he could go back…

(XXX)

Okami was running towards an explosion, he recognized one of Orochimaru's jutsus. He wasn't moving as fast as he wanted, he was too slow, his fight with Kakashi had weakened him too much.

He stops again when another Akatsuki member lands in front of him. This one wears a hood that hides his head, but he raises it down immediately.

"Who the fuck..." begins Okami but his words stop in his throat when he recognizes the shinobi in front of him.

Pure horror can be seen on the white-haired man as he looks at the tall man that blocks his path.

"You.." Okami swallows, "You should be dead!"

**Sorry for the cliffhanger. Please review, it helps me a lot. Goodbye for now.**


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